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UK construction safety: a zero paradox?
The zero accident mantra has become embedded within the safety discourse of large UK construction organisations. A critique has emerged around this phenomenon and its alignment with outmoded ‘Safety I’ thinking, a consequence of the dominant focus on accident causality. But the extent to which zero-...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Default Article |
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2017
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/2134/24551 |
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| _version_ | 1818171303595606016 |
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| author | F. Sherratt Andrew Dainty |
| author_facet | F. Sherratt Andrew Dainty |
| author_sort | F. Sherratt (7178132) |
| collection | Figshare |
| description | The zero accident mantra has become embedded within the safety discourse of large UK construction organisations. A critique has emerged around this phenomenon and its alignment with outmoded ‘Safety I’ thinking, a consequence of the dominant focus on accident causality. But the extent to which zero-focused approaches yield reductions in accident frequency is yet to be empirically investigated. By way of an evidence-based critique, we examine the relationship between major accidents and zero approaches by drawing on Health and Safety Executive accident data over a 4 year period, together with an analysis of major contractors’ safety approaches. This reveals that working on a project subject to a zero safety policy or programme actually appears to slightly increase the likelihood of having a serious life-changing accident or fatality; a possible ‘zero paradox’. Although these findings should be treated with caution, they suggest that the apparent trend towards abandoning zero amongst some large organisations is well-founded. More pointedly, if zero policies are closing down opportunities to learn and innovate while simultaneously failing to yield reductions in serious accident rates, then this suggests a need to discard this discourse in favour of more contingent perspectives on safe working. |
| format | Default Article |
| id | rr-article-9446696 |
| institution | Loughborough University |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| record_format | Figshare |
| spelling | rr-article-94466962017-01-01T00:00:00Z UK construction safety: a zero paradox? F. Sherratt (7178132) Andrew Dainty (1258524) Other built environment and design not elsewhere classified Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified Construction industry Safety United Kingdom Zero paradox Zero Built Environment and Design not elsewhere classified Law The zero accident mantra has become embedded within the safety discourse of large UK construction organisations. A critique has emerged around this phenomenon and its alignment with outmoded ‘Safety I’ thinking, a consequence of the dominant focus on accident causality. But the extent to which zero-focused approaches yield reductions in accident frequency is yet to be empirically investigated. By way of an evidence-based critique, we examine the relationship between major accidents and zero approaches by drawing on Health and Safety Executive accident data over a 4 year period, together with an analysis of major contractors’ safety approaches. This reveals that working on a project subject to a zero safety policy or programme actually appears to slightly increase the likelihood of having a serious life-changing accident or fatality; a possible ‘zero paradox’. Although these findings should be treated with caution, they suggest that the apparent trend towards abandoning zero amongst some large organisations is well-founded. More pointedly, if zero policies are closing down opportunities to learn and innovate while simultaneously failing to yield reductions in serious accident rates, then this suggests a need to discard this discourse in favour of more contingent perspectives on safe working. 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 2134/24551 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/UK_construction_safety_a_zero_paradox_/9446696 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
| spellingShingle | Other built environment and design not elsewhere classified Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified Construction industry Safety United Kingdom Zero paradox Zero Built Environment and Design not elsewhere classified Law F. Sherratt Andrew Dainty UK construction safety: a zero paradox? |
| title | UK construction safety: a zero paradox? |
| title_full | UK construction safety: a zero paradox? |
| title_fullStr | UK construction safety: a zero paradox? |
| title_full_unstemmed | UK construction safety: a zero paradox? |
| title_short | UK construction safety: a zero paradox? |
| title_sort | uk construction safety: a zero paradox? |
| topic | Other built environment and design not elsewhere classified Other law and legal studies not elsewhere classified Construction industry Safety United Kingdom Zero paradox Zero Built Environment and Design not elsewhere classified Law |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/2134/24551 |